Israel-haters have been bashing Israel for our latest, supposed act of evil: banning the import of donkeys into Gaza.
In an Arab News report titled Israeli ban on donkey import stops the wheel of Gaza cart economy, you need to read down to the fifth paragraph before you get an idea as to why Israel imposed the ban.
Cattle carts arriving at the vegetable market in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza and vendors and shoppers flocking to them have been a regular feature for years in the strip besieged by Israel.
But this might become a thing of the past as Israel has been preventing donkeys from entering the Gaza Strip since December last year, according to donkey dealers in Gaza.
Hani Al-Nadi, 40, a donkey dealer, said that Israel prevented him and other traders from importing the animals into Gaza.
“In December, I was informed by the Israeli authorities at the Erez Crossing that I am not allowed to obtain an import permit for donkeys,” Al-Nadi told Arab News.
He said an Israeli nongovernmental organization claimed that donkeys are tortured in Gaza and that after they are imported from Israel, they are slaughtered and their skins are sold to China via Egypt.
Ofer Stritch, from Starting Over, a nonprofit Israeli animal sanctuary, said: “We learned from multiple sources in Gaza that many donkeys arriving in the strip via Israel are sent to Egypt where they are slaughtered and their skins sold to China.
“We realized that there is a sudden increase in the number of donkeys that are transported from Israel to Egypt via Gaza.”
Al-Nadi rejected the allegations and said: “We cannot export anything through Egypt, and donkeys are not slaughtered in Gaza. I do not know the reason for this claim.”
According to Al-Nadi, Israel is the only source for importing donkeys, which are used for cheap transportation in light of the high fuel prices, into the Gaza Strip.
Despite the donkey dealer’s denials, I think it is clear this is precisely the reason for the ban. Logically, it makes no sense for an animal rights organization to just invent such an allegation. Overseas animal rights organizations are also involved. And it is not like the idea of palestinians abusing animals is so outlandish. Donkeys in particular, have had a rather hard time of things.
Yet the haters are spinning our compassion for animals as just a way to crush Gazans. Because to them, Jews can do no right and palestinian Arabs can do no wrong.
